incinerate

verb

in·​cin·​er·​ate in-ˈsi-nə-ˌrāt 

incinerated; incinerating

transitive verb

: to cause to burn to ashes

incineration

in-ˌsi-nə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

Examples of incinerate in a Sentence

The waste is incinerated in a large furnace.

Recent Examples on the Web

Only a tiny fraction of plastic is recycled, less than 10% globally, the rest ends up incinerated, in landfill, or choking the world’s rivers and oceans, killing marine life. —Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025

The initial blaze incinerated two unoccupied RVs at the Pyramid Lake RV park. —Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025

When Sarah sees the children in the playground incinerated, that was the core image for that film, and then she gets incinerated herself. —Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2025

Eighty years ago, in August 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were incinerated by the first and only use of nuclear weapons in war. —Masako Toki, The Conversation, 4 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin incineratus, past participle of incinerare, from Latin in- + ciner-, cinis ashes; akin to Greek konis dust, ashes

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for incinerate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

incinerate

verb

in·​cin·​er·​ate in-ˈsin-ə-ˌrāt 

incinerated; incinerating

: to burn to ashes

incineration

-ˌsin-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

incinerate

transitive verb

in·​cin·​er·​ate in-ˈsin-ə-ˌrāt 

incinerated; incinerating

: to cause to burn to ashes